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As reported by High North News on May 28, the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) working group released its Arctic Climate Change Update for 2024, warning that extreme weather, sea ice loss, and ocean acidification are accelerating across the region. The report recommends stronger action on emissions, climate adaptation, and Indigenous participation in research. While AMAP and other Arctic Council working groups have resumed activity in a digital format, diplomatic and political-level meetings remain paused due to the ongoing suspension of cooperation with Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The report was presented at the Arctic Science Summit Week in Colorado ahead of Norway’s handover of the Arctic Council chairship to the Kingdom of Denmark. (High North News)
The current paralysis of Arctic governance highlights a critical mismatch between the urgency of climate challenges and the capacity for international cooperation. AMAP’s latest report documents alarming acceleration in extreme weather events, wildfires, melting ice, and ocean acidification, yet the primary forum for regional cooperation is suspended. This governance vacuum is particularly dangerous because Arctic changes don’t respect political boundaries and require coordinated responses. The suspension of cooperation with Russia eliminates access to crucial scientific data from vast Siberian territories and the Trump administration cuts to research funding further weaken the knowledge base needed for effective responses. Once disrupted, such networks take years to rebuild, requiring not just renewed funding but a reconstruction of trust, shared methodologies, and Indigenous integration. As climate impacts accelerate faster than political solutions can emerge, these knowledge networks serve as the foundation for any future coordinated response, making the working groups essential despite the impossibility of immediate policy outcomes. (AMAP, High North News, The Arctic Council)
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